Reminders from my youth

Dear Anton,Thank you for your letter. I’m sorry if I cannot directly respond to everything you said.

Most of it did not make sense to me. I cannot even understand some of the words. I had my big dictionary beside me while I was reading your letter, but it’s okay. It is fun to receive letters. How many letters to other people do you write? I guess a lot. Because, when you are an adult, you can write faster and you know a lot more words and you know a lot more people to write to. You also have a lot more stories to tell your friends about.

I already stopped drinking milk from my bottles. I was so sad when it was taken away from me, but I am okay now. I do not know if I will cry again the same way I cried when they hid my bottles. I was really sad. Do adults still cry? I guess you do not cry anymore when you are already a grownup. I have not seen my father cry at all. Does that mean that adults do not feel sad anymore?

What is your work now? I want to be an architect someday. I enjoy drawing houses. I even draw one for Mama. Is what you are doing now something you dreamed of doing when you were still a kid? When you are already an adult, do you still have dreams of what you want to do when you get older? Is what you are doing now already your dream and so you do not think of anything else to do?

I am not yet allowed to go outside the school by myself, so I have not yet seen the basketball cards you were telling me in your letter. I do not know if I will buy one. Are they nice? Are there basketball cards for PBA players? I now have a favorite team in the PBA.

Do you watch PBA? I love the PureFoods team. I even cried when they lost the other night. I cried because people were teasing me. I hate it when people tease me every time my team loses. People can sometimes be mean. I do not know whether they are mean to me just because I am a kid or they are really mean people. Maybe you are not mean to others, because you even told me to be nice to other people.

Please do not tell my sister that I did not want to have a baby sister. She might get sad. I like her now. Her cheeks are so chubby. The other day, I was playing with her. She keeps on laughing whenever I say “Bulaga!” It is so easy to make her laugh. Adults do not find that funny. Why is it easier to make a kid laugh than an adult? How often do you laugh?

Once a day? What makes you laugh? I’m sure “Bulaga!” does not make you laugh anymore.

I just started to learn to play tennis. I cannot hit the ball that hard yet. Sunscreen? What does that do? I am also now starting to learn how to swim. It was scary at first, but I got used to it.

There are so many things I want to learn. I am thinking of playing the piano or even the guitar. Maybe when you are an adult, you already know a lot of things. How about you?

What musical instruments do you play? What sports do you play?

The other day it was brownout again. It was superhot inside the house so I invited my neighbor friends to play outside. We played turumpo and tumbang preso. Even though I had some bruises, it was still fun. I was supposed to watch Thundercats on TV when the electricity went back, but playing outside was more fun. In school, I play jolens with my classmates after class. The other day, my school bus almost left without me, because I was still playing. Will being an adult be as fun as this as well? I actually do not see any adults who play outside when it is brownout. Do adults still play? If not, what do you do to make your life fun?

I’m sorry if I ask a lot of questions. I am just curious. Mama told me the other day that she is running out of answers to all my questions. I do not hear adults ask a lot of questions.

Is it because you know everything already? Maybe that’s it. Maybe I will also stop asking questions when I know everything. I cannot wait for that day to come. When will that be? When will I know everything and stop asking questions?

That’s it for now. I still need to finish my homework. Homework is never fun, but Mama said that I need to finish them before I can play again. I hope to meet you soon so that we can play and you can tell me more stories.

Sincerely,Anthony

Anton Ng is a partner, Audit & Assurance of P&A Grant Thornton. P&A Grant Thornton is one of the leading Audit, Tax, Advisory, and Outsourcing firms in the Philippines, with 21 partners and over 850 staff members. We’d like to hear from you! Tweet us: @PAGrantThornton, like us on Facebook: P&A Grant Thornton, and email your comments to anton.ng@ph.gt.com or pagrantthornton.marketscomm@ph.gt.com. For more information, visit our Website: www.grantthornton.com.ph.